Novak Djokovic, taking part in a natural, pristine emblem of tennis on Sunday, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to win the 1/3 version of the Astana Open.
It was once the 9th consecutive fit victory for the fourth seed, who received the name per week in the past in Tel Aviv. This was once the ninetieth tour-level name for the 35-year-old and it required best 75 mins.
For the third-seeded Greek Tsitsipas, it was once the 9th time he performed in an ATP 500 last – and the 9th time he got here up empty. Djokovic now leads their ATP Head2Headvert sequence 8-2 and has received the previous seven.
As a results of the win, the Serbian famous person secures himself a Top 20 spot within the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin after the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters, which means the reigning Wimbledon champion qualifies for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals as a current-year Grand Slam winner. It was once the ninetieth profession tour-level name for Djokovic and the fourth of 2022.
When the on-court interviewer noticed that Djokovic most likely by no means dreamed of 90 ATP Tour titles, Djokovic shook his head.
“I dared to dream, actually,” he corrected. “I always hoped that I would be going to have a great career. Obviously, didn’t know the amount of finals I was going to play, the amount of tournaments I was going to win, but my intention was always to reach the highest heights in our sport.”
Tsitsipas will go back to the Top 5 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday and the 24-year-old Greek nonetheless leads all ATP Tour avid gamers with 53 fit wins.
Djokovic started the fit with an odd point of play, successful the primary recreation at love in a bit over one minute. With Tsitsipas serving at 3-4, the 21-time main champion became up the warmth. Employing the drop shot that undid Daniil Medvedev in a semi-final tie-break, Djokovic went directly to create the one ruin level of the primary set. After Tsitsipas over-hit a forehand, Djokovic served it out, completing a flourish – and ace outdoor.
Djokovic scored some other ruin within the 5th recreation of the second one set when a annoyed Tsitsipas tried a drop shot that fell into the web. Later, Djokovic transformed his 1/3 fit level with a backhand winner into an open court docket.
“I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life,” Djokovic stated. “You know, 35 is not 25. But I think the experience, probably, in these kinds of matches and big occasions helps as well to approach mentally in the right way.”
Did just about 3 months clear of tennis following his win at Wimbledon make Djokovic hungrier for luck?
“Well, it did,” Djokovic stated. “I could not ask for a better re-start of the season. I’m super-pumped and motivated to end the season as well as I have done these past couple of weeks.”
For the fit, Djokovic received 87 consistent with cent (33/38) of his first-serve issues. He didn’t face a ruin level, hitting15 winners and committing best seven unforced mistakes. Tsitsipas, in the meantime, constantly struggled to land his forehand.
This was once the tenth all Top-10 last of the yr and 2nd at an ATP 500 tournament after World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Tsitsipas on the 2022 Rotterdam last.